Breaking: Drinking Is Important In Marriage

Breaking: Drinking Is Important In Marriage

You've probably got your list of deal breakers when it comes to dating, and even marriage. While this writer refuses to date a guy that won't kill bugs, others have a more weighty (read: realistic) checklist. For some women, dating a guy who doesn't drink at all is out of the question — ditto for someone who drinks way too much. But, a new study shows that dissimilar drinking habits can not only cause tension during the "What do you wanna do tonight?" conversation, but can actually lead to divorce.

To reach this conclusion, a research team from the University of Buffalo followed newlyweds for nine years. During this (very awkward) time, they found that couples who don't share a drinking style split up 50% of the time, while only 30% of those with the same boozing habits broke up. Plus, the divorce rate was the same for couples who drank heavily and those who abstained from alcohol. Kenneth Leonard, Ph.D, who led the study, says it's the difference in drinking habits, rather than the amount consumed, that's the real game changer. Apparently, differing attitudes toward drinking reflect a larger incompatibility. Though we're just learning this information now, we feel it's something we've known deep down all along.

Of course, there may have been many other factors at play that caused the divorce. Maybe he wouldn't kill bugs. Maybe she held unrealistic expectations about his bug-killing abilities. In a nutshell, we think that as long as both of you find peach Schnapps repulsive, you're good. (NBC)